2nd Quarter Poetry Journal Response

Wanderer

For years I have held your hands in mine,

Waddled forward in single file,

Smushed together like two slices on a loaf of bread.

We proceeded over the rolling hills,

Castles,

Princesses,

Happy endings.

As we frolicked through the green meadows and bright prairies,

I taught you many valuable things,

Knowing that one day,

I would have to let you go.

One day,

You will step across the threshold of the Double Doors of Destiny

And my hand will slip out of yours.

You will stumble,

And reach for my hand,

But I will not offer it.

You will have to continue from this point on,

Alone,

Staggering through the dark Labyrinth we call Life,

And follow the fading path that I traveled so many years ago.

When the days are pitch black,

And there seems to be no way out,

Remember what I told you when the sun shined on the smiling timber land,

And take it wherever you wander.

One day,

You will come back again to the waterfall we visited,

And I will be waiting for you there.

We will hold hands once more,

Finish the last stretch side by side,

Take the path to the golden palace

And ascend into the light together,

like it was meant to be.

I wrote this poem (a paragraph at the time) in response the one thingy about the first swim lesson and how you need to look up to survive, or something like that (Am I rambling in four year old speak? Probably). I did add a LOT to the original, because I felt really rushed that day (I think that I was returning a book...) and didn't get to write as much as I wanted to. I also played a little with line breaks (fancier way to say that I turned it into a poem), just because I feel like condensing it into paragraph form would take away from its sentimental value (discussed in next paragraph).

This piece of poetry is a tribute to my mother, whom I am very close with, to say the least, despite her weirdness. Ever since I was little, she has held my hand and walked with me through both the dark and the light aspects of my life. She taught me a lot of valuable lessons along the way, and has showed me how to deal with pain, joy, anger, fear, insecurity, and the ups and downs of everyday life. But after all the time we have spent together, we both know that I will have to leave her someday, and roam the world on my own. As I walk on my own path, I will always remember the things that she told me way back when, and carry them with me wherever I wander.